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Master’s Thesis Lara Coebergh
6186122
Graduate School of Communication Master’s program Communication Science
Persuasive Communication Sophie Boerman
24-6-2014
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Craving for nature?
The impact of nature imagery and product congruency on ad
effectiveness
Abstract
Nature is increasingly used in advertisements for numerous product categories. However, a research gap still exists in the explanation of the emotional effects of consumers nature in ads. This study therefore aims to show the effects of nature imagery in advertisements, also
evaluating the effect of the level of congruency between the background and the product within an ad. The relevant independent variables were product memory, brand memory, ad liking and brand liking. To increase the usability of the results, experimental stimuli were pre-tested and used in a real life experiment (N = 166). Significant positive effects of nature imagery were found on ad liking, and indirectly on brand liking. In contrast to prior research, no significant results were found on product and brand memory. Since memory was measured after a short time interval, nature might still generate beneficial effects on long-term memory. The results of this study provide insight into how the psychological effects of nature imagery can contribute to effective advertisements. In terms of theory, this study tries to provide new theoretical foundations for the increase in the use of nature in advertisements as part of a communication strategy.
Introduction
From the 1960s onwards, the depiction of nature and its underlying meanings in advertising have been continuously changing (Hansen, 2002). At first, nature was merely portrayed as a pleasing and beautiful background for the advertised product. In the 1970s it was portrayed as an exploitable resource; rich of raw materials and subject to humanity (Hansen, 2002). Due to a change in the global media and in the global political agenda, the 1980s and 1990s marked the onset of a new consciousness towards the environment, now linked to consumerism (Roberts, 1996). Nowadays, the use of imagery of unspoiled natural environments has increased significantly, partially due to a surge in ‘green advertising’ (Leonidou, Leonidou, Palihawadana & Hultman, 2011; Hartmann, Apaolaza & Alija, 2013). At present, however, little research has been done on how nature imagery actually influences people’s perceptions and attitudes towards ads. A recent study (Hartmann et al. 2013) confirmed that people pay more attention to ads with pleasant nature imagery. Ads with nature imagery namely have a certain positive effect on people’s state of mind that is similar to actually being in a pleasant natural environment (Ulrich, Simons, Losito, Fiorito, Miles, & Zelson, 1991). Due to an increased state of attention generated by nature imagery, people recall ads better. However, pleasant nature imagery may also increase the consumers’ liking of that particular ad, since a better performance of someone’s image-memory could be a consequence of an emotional arousal. This relation has been studied and confirmed before in a general setting (Leigh, Zinkhan, & Swaminathan, 2006), but not yet within a context or as a consequence of nature imagery.
It is important to find out which elements of an ad stand out as being most ‘telling’ or the most powerful (Bulmer & Buchanan-Oliver, 2006; Branthwaite, 2002). The type of
marketing has held the conception that consistency and relevancy when communicating brand meaning to consumers ensures that the brand image will appeal to consumers (Percy & Elliott, 2005). However, schema-based research, or schema theory, which stems from the cognitive psychological literature, challenges this premise and states that moderately schema incongruent information may lead to more favourable responses (Halkias & Kokkinaki, 2013). This could be applied to the level of congruency between the product of the ad and the ad background. Moderately incongruent stimuli within an ad could attract more attention, increase cognitive arousal and may generate more positive beliefs. Therefore, the research question of this thesis will be: To what extent does nature imagery in an ad influences ad and
brand memory and ad and brand liking, and to what extent this differs between a congruent
and moderately incongruent product ad background match?
Previous research has shown that visual advertising stimuli are superior to memory than verbal messages (Childers & Houston, 1984; Branthwaite, 2002). However, still very little research has been done on the effects of nature imagery in advertising so far, while a substantial part of contemporary advertising employs nature in their ads (Hansen, 2002). In addition,previous experimental research on the effects of incongruency of the context of an ad with the content of the ad has only been done within a magazine environment (Dhalen, Rosengren, Törn, & Öhmen, 2008; Moorman, Neijens & Smit, 2002), or in a laboratory context (Halkias & Kokkinaki, 2013). No research on advertisements has been done on nature imagery and the level of in-ad congruency in a real-life setting, even though this could give marketers more reliable insights for the use of these communication strategies. We will therefore conduct a real-life experiment in this research. Expected is that both nature imagery and the level of congruency will increase ad effectiveness; separately, but also
simultaneously. The answer to this thesis will give more understanding on the influence of natural imagery on the psychological processes of consumers.
Theoretical Framework
The effects of Nature imagery
Visual dimensions of advertising are often extremely complex, since pictures are capable of translating concepts or metaphors that could be perceived differently by every viewer (Branthwaite, 2002). Previously, it was assumed that visuals were less ambiguous and less universal than verbal messages (Bulmer & Buchanan-Oliver, 2006). But this seems to be the result of advertisers reinforcing certain meanings to the ad through additional verbal text, music or other communication tools, leading the attention away from the picture in the background.
Nature is often portrayed as a paradise in ads: fresh, untouched, imperfect, good, unspoilt, and as a nice place to be (Hansen, 2002). It is believed however, that nature imagery has more to it, next to being an aesthetic preference or a tasteful idyllic depiction (Frumkin, 2001). Hartmann et al. (2013) showed, by comparing the emotional and cognitive reactions of two groups of respondents, that advertisements featuring visual representations of pleasant natural scenes are able to evoke very similar responses to those experienced in actual interaction with natural environments. From an evolutionary perspective, a deeper relation between nature and human biology may be related to survival advantages. The ability to find a relaxing natural setting or a place with an open view could have had certain advantages for our ancestors. And preferences for these types of ‘natural views’ may thus still be embedded in our evolutionary heritage (Frumkin, 2001).
There is scientific proof that nature can also contribute to good mental health (Frumkin, 2001). Nowadays, with people living mostly in urbanised environments, there is emerging evidence that people who visit green spaces overall not only have better health -such as lower blood pressure-, but also are more emotionally stable (Hartmann et al. 2013;
Frumkin, 2001). Kaplan (1995) explains with the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) that interacting with nature can restore one’s directed attention, which improves performance in attention- and memory-related tasks. In a study of Berman, Jonides, and Kaplan (2008), respondents’ performances on backwards digit-span significantly improved when they had walked in nature. Similarly, the stress reduction theory of Ulrich et al. (1991) explains how exposure to natural environments (including visual exposure to nature through pictures or moving images) can evoke positive emotional responses like a relaxed state of mind and higher attention. A decrease in negative feelings and lower levels of stress can thus improve physiological and cognitive functioning (Hartmann et al. 2013; Frumkin, 2001). In Hartmann et al.’s (2013) eye tracking study, people showed more fixations on the text area in the ad when nature images were used in that ad, and left this text area fewer times than they did with identical advertisements that not displayed pleasant nature scenery. These longer fixations on the text underpinned the findings that natural imagery does recover attention and that it is a stimulating condition for higher memory scores.
However, a decrease in negative feelings and lower levels of stress might also improve and increase positive emotions (Frumkin, 2001). This might have implications for consumers’ reactions to nature imagery in advertisements. The decrease in negatively toned feelings and the evocation of more positive emotional responses, which in Kaplan’s ART theory is argued, may lead to more positive ad liking and brand liking. People like the relaxing experience and the emotional consequences of looking at an image of nature. In the study of Hartmann et al. (2013) respondents clearly showed emotional preferences for certain types of natural scenes (e.g. a mountain stream, a beach tree, a Mediterranean coast, lakes and forests, and a
Savannah) over other (non-) nature imagery. Based on the aesthetical attraction and the positive emotions that nature scenes thus can generate, it is arguable that using them in an ad
could lead to more positive ad evaluations, including higher ad liking (Muehling & McCann, 1993). On the basis of these previous arguments, the following hypotheses were formulated:
H1a: When an ad includes a nature background, respondents will have a better recall of the product and the brand in the ad, compared to a similar ad with a non-natural
background.
H1b: When an ad includes a nature background, respondents will like the ad more, compared to a similar ad with a non-natural background.
The effects of product background (in)congruency
Nature is often used in ads for different product categories. For many of these categories, nature is illustrated or used differently. Nature can be used as a source of ingredients for the product; as the embodiment of health (shampoos, moisturizers, soaps); possessing restorative powers (food products, non-alcoholic drinks, water and tea); or as a source for household cleaning products (implying freshness). Nature is also often portrayed as a space for human recreation (holidays), and as a symbol of freedom (Hansen, 2002). In addition, there is a large section of advertisements that portrays nature as something we should protect or use wisely (e.g., green advertising). All of these types of nature identities, or associations between product type and nature, could create certain expectations for a consumer for the processing of other advertisements with similar products or background imagery (Priester, Godek, Nayakankuppum & Park, 2004; Fiske & Linville, 1980).
According to schema theory, which stems from social psychology, cognitive processing is namely guided by prior knowledge and experiences, which can create certain expectancies (Fiske & Linville, 1980). Every piece of information is organized and stored along with its relevant attributes and connections in memory-based structures, creating an
accumulated knowledge on the matter. Over time, this knowledge creates a sense of expectancy and simplicity about some (new) bit(s) of information (Halkias & Kokkinaki, 2013). As Fiske and Linville (1980) argue, schema theory could be applied to a variety of social areas, including information processing. Schema theory could thus also be applied to the building up of brand attitudes and for recognizing advertising patterns or strategies (use of nature imagery) for certain product categories.
It is widely argued that consistency in marketing communication works best for brand image (Keller, 1993). Prior research has for example found that thematic congruence between the immediate editorial environment of the ad and the ad itself in some cases can facilitate better processing of the ad and may enhance ad memory (incl. product and brand memory), because it confirms earlier expectations (Moorman et al. 2002). However, Halkias and
Kokkinaki (2013) found that when the visuals and the text in an ad were highly congruent and predictable in relation to the brand, respondents were not stimulated to pay attention towards the ad. Similarly, selecting a similar theme for both the editorial environment and the ad itself, may not contribute to more ad processing, which is a prerequisite to memorize the ad (Dahlen et al. 2008). Dahlen et al. (2008) also argue that inconsistency in thematic communication may prevent ads from becoming evaluated less positively in terms of ad and brand liking as well, since the processing of an ad in an incongruent context is less predictive and needs more processing. Additionally, with respect to people’s expectations towards brand image, breaking with this communication consistency and using incongruent information in ads may also have beneficial effects in terms of ad and brand memory (Lange & Dahlen, 2003). When “new” incongruent information to a certain amount is relevant for the existing expected information about the product and the brand, it may improve the memorability of the ad and create favourable reactions amongst respondents (Heckler & Childers, 1992).
Kokkinaki’s (2013) research. They found that attracting consumers’ attention for a longer time, due to a moderate discrepancy of brand information, could contribute to making more sense out of the intended message of the ad. This leads to a more structured notion of the ad, which makes it more easily retrieved from memory (Fiske & Linville, 1980).
In addition, Halkias and Kokkinaki (2013) found that when this “depuzzling” of the moderate incongruent information was successful, respondents felt a sense of satisfaction and
fulfilment, which made their evaluations about the ad more favourable. The fulfilment of comprehending unexpected information could thus also lead to higher ad liking. A combination of incongruent pieces of information can be perceived as more creative or original, especially within the increasingly competitive ads people see on a daily basis. This creativity can positively affect consumers’ emotional reactions (Smith, Chen, & Yang 2008). In this research we argue that similar effects may be generated for moderate incongruent pieces of information for the ad background (nature or non-nature) and the product type in an ad (congruent or moderately incongruent). Therefore, the following hypotheses were devised:
H2a: Moderately incongruent product ad-background advertisements generate higher product and brand memory, than congruent advertisements do.
H2b: Moderately incongruent product ad-background advertisements generate higher ad liking, than congruent advertisements.
Interaction-effect between nature and product background (in)congruency
It is assumed in both the literature on nature imagery (Hartmann et al. 2013; Kaplan, 1995) and on in-ad congruency (Halkias & Kokkinaki, 2013) that both have a positive effect on ad effectiveness (i.e. product memory, brand memory, ad liking). That is to say, a combination of both would in theory have the strongest effect on these aforementioned variables. Consumers’
responses (in terms of memory and liking) to the level of moderately incongruent information within an ad could be strengthened by the fact that people enjoy and elaborate more on pleasant pictures of nature (Kaplan, 1995; Ulrich et al. 1991). For this reason, consumers may have more cognitive resources and more positive emotions to invest in the processing of moderately incongruent advertisements. On the basis of this argument, we thus expect an interaction effect between the two independent variables in this research. A combination of nature imagery with a moderately incongruent product in the ad could therefore be an even more effective ad structure in the pursuit of ad effectiveness, than both variables could generate separately. Consequentially, the following hypotheses were formulated:
H3a: Nature has a stronger effect on product and brand recall, when the product and the ad background are moderately incongruent.
H3b: Nature has a stronger effect on ad liking, when the product and the ad background are moderately incongruent.
The mediating effect of ad liking on brand liking
Researchers have hypothesized that attitudes toward an advertisement, such as ad liking, have a mediating influence on brand liking (Mackenzie, Lutz & Belch, 1986; Smith et al. 2008). So, favourable or unfavourable feelings of a consumer towards an ad, which in this case could be instigated by nature imagery, moderately incongruent information or a combination of the two, may impact attitudes towards the brand. From this, we may expect that when consumers like an ad, this might thus have a positive influence on their liking of the brand. Therefore, the last hypothesis is formulated as follows:
Conceptual Model
Method
StimuliThe research design has a format of a 2 (natural imagery vs. other non-nature imagery) x 2 (congruent vs. moderately incongruent product) between subjects experimental design. The development of these stimuli was subject to two theoretical issues. Firstly, based on the ART-theory, the nature image should be more relaxing and enlivening then the non-nature image. Secondly, a congruent and a moderately incongruent product-ad background match had to be made with two different types of products. The operationalization of this
congruency fit is according to Halkias and Kokkinaki (2013) however a delicate practice. They noticed in their research that people were not willing to invest the attention that would be required to merge the pieces of information into a meaningful message, when the
Ad background: With natural imagery
vs.
Without natural imagery
Product (category): Congruent with nature
vs.
Moderately incongruent with nature Ad effectiveness: (1) Product memory (2) Brand memory (3) Ad liking (4) Brand liking H2a,b+ H3a,b+ H1a,b + H4 +
perceived relevance and the expectancies about the pieces of information retrieved from the ad were too incongruent.
In order to separate these issues, two different pre-tests were done. Both pre-tests were distributed as online surveys via Qualtrics and both were promoted via social media. For the development of the experimental stimuli Adobe Photoshop (Version 14: Creative Cloud) software was used.
Pre-test 1: Ad background.
The first pre-test aimed to find the most appropriate nature and non-nature images for the final experiment. We used three pictures retrieved from the Internet that depicted an image of a sunny Mediterranean coast, a tropical waterfall and a view of hills covered in autumn trees. Prior research of Hartmann et al. (2013) encouraged using these types of images. For the non-natural backgrounds three pictures were chosen with city views without any natural greenery. 23 Respondents (82.60% female, Mage= 34.74; SDage= 15.46) completed
the online survey. Respondents had to report their feelings that were generated by the images while looking at them. Feelings of relaxation were measured with a pre-existing six-item (e.g. calm, peaceful, uneasy) ‘Calmness scale’ (Gorn, Chattopadhyay, Sengupta & Tripathi, 2004).
Attention to the ad was measured with a pre-existing four items scale (Laczniak, Meuhling, &
Grossbart, 1989), which asked respondents to what extent they paid attention to the ad. Respondent’s happiness was measured with three ‘one word’-items of a pre-existing scale (Izard, 1977). All items had a response format with a 7-point Likert scale.
The picture of nature imagery that on average generated the strongest positive effects over these three variables (see Appendix A and B) was the image of a tropical waterfall (M = 5.12; SD = 1.03) with the highest average scores for the three variables (Mrelaxation = 5.57; SDrelaxation = 1.30; Mhappiness = 5.29,SDhappiness = 1.44;Mattention = 4.51, SDattention = 1.09). The non-nature picture that on average generated the strongest reversal effects was the picture of
Tokyo’s skyscrapers (M = 3.68; SD = 1.01), which thus scored lowest on ‘relaxing’ and ‘happy’ feelings and higher on ‘tense’ feelings (Mrelaxation = 3.64; SDrelaxation = .95; Mhappiness = 3.68,SDhappiness = 1.61 ;Mattention = 3.72, SDattention = 1.19). These two pictures were chosen for the final experimental ‘nature background’ and ‘non-nature background’ stimuli.
Pre-test 2: Congruency fit
Because of the delicacy of the congruent versus moderately incongruent fit between the background and the type of product (Halkias & Kokkinaki, 2013), and simultaneously, to control for the strength of the manipulations, a second test was done. The aim of this pre-test was to find the products for the final experimental stimuli, that could create a congruent product-ad background match, and a moderately incongruent product-ad background match with the two pictures chosen from the prior pre-test. Since respondents’ involvement with the products was not measured in this research, Halkias and Kokkinaki’s (2013) argument was followed, this states that moderate incongruence in brand communication works best for products when consumers are low involved with the products. Therefore ten products from different product types (e.g. a bottle of water, coffee, shampoo, etc.) were retrieved from the low involvement grid from Rossiter and Percy (1997). To give a clear direction on how to assess the congruency between the products and the ad backgrounds, respondents were asked explicitly to evaluate the products’ congruency with the ad background on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = not at all, 7 = very much) on the basis of the products’ ingredients and its function as much as possible.
29 Respondents (67.7% female; Mage = 30.20; SDage = 12.73) completed the online
survey. The mean scores for every product were computed to find out to what extent the respondents found the suggested products congruent with the two backgrounds (see Appendix C). As the bottle of water ((Mnature = 6.14; SDnature = .99) and the Energy drink (Mnon-nature =
4.55; SDnon-nature = 1.59) scored highest in the nature and non-nature pictures respectively, they were chosen for the congruent match for the nature condition and the non-nature condition for the final experiment. Both the bottle of water (Mnon-nature = 2.28, SDnon-nature = 1.56) and the Energy drink (Mnature = 2.66 , SDnature = 1.57) simultaneously scored moderately incongruent with the other background.
Textual aspects
To isolate the effects of existing brand associations, experimental stimuli entailed products from non-existing brands. The water bottle brand was called “H2Drink”, and the energy drink the brand called “POW!”. In this way there would be no prior agent knowledge or strong pre-existing associations that could influence ad or brand attitudes. To control for possible green advertising associations that can generate guilt appeals, employing ‘green’ claims were avoided in the experimental stimuli (D’Souza & Taghian, 2005; Jimenez, 2008). As a result, the following slogan -applicable for both products- ‘[name of brand] “The
invigorating thirst quencher” (in Dutch: “De verkwikkende dorstlesser”) was integrated in the stimuli to give them a more professional look-and-feel (Appendix D).
Data collection
In total, 166 respondents (58% female, Mage = 33.41; SDage= 16.39) participated in the
experiment. Since people who have little contact with nature are most sensitive to the effects of nature images in advertisement (Hartmann et al. 2013; Frumkin, 2001), we chose to reach as many urban respondents for our research as possible. Data collection was done through a street poll at Weesperplein subway station, which is a busy public transportation hub in Amsterdam that many urban people use. Data was gathered over 6 days in May 2014. Respondents were only recruited on the basis of age (18< years old) and were asked if they wanted to participate in a short survey (see Appendix E). If so, one of the four experimental
stimuli was presented to the participant for a few moments before he or she manually filled in the questionnaire. The ad was introduced as an advert for a new brand with a new product. Participation took generally 5-10 minutes. For every experimental stimulus 41-42 respondents took part, which made the proportions between the nature versus non-nature conditions, and the congruent versus the moderately incongruent conditions exactly 1:1.
Measures
Product and brand memory. Respondents’ product memory was measured through an
open question. Respondents had to write down what type of product was communicated in the ad. Brand memory was measured in the same way as product memory by means of an open question. Both questions were asked near the end of the survey to establish some time
between the confrontation of the ad and the moment of recollection. Since both brands did not exist in real-life, certain typos in the respondents’ answers were permitted. For example the answer ‘H2O’ was permitted for the brand H2drink. Answers like ‘Power’ or ‘wow’ were considered right for the brand POW!.
Ad liking and Brand liking. To measure ad liking three items of a pre-existing scale
developed by Cox and Cox (2002) were used. Respondents were asked on a bipolar 7-point Likert scale to what extent they found the ad ‘bad/good’, ‘pleasant/unpleasant’, and ‘not likeable/likeable’. A factor analysis revealed that the items for the scale loaded on one
component (EV = 2.36; R2 = .79; Cronbach’s alpha = .86). The mean scores of the three items functioned as a measurement of ad liking (M = 4.28; SD = 1.46).
To identify participants’ liking of the brand the same three items from the scale of Cox
could load on one component (EV =2.51; R2 = .84; r = .9) and the mean scores functioned as a measurement of brand liking (M = 3.94; SD = 1.36).
Control variables. A number of control variables were measured to control for other
explanations that could influence the experiment’s outcome. Participants were asked whether they lived in an urban, small village- or green environment; whether they were in a hurry (yes/no); to what extent they were environmentally conscious (1-7); their age; and their sex. Also, the assumed effects that would occur for nature, and less for non-nature imagery were controlled for as a manipulation. For this, the same items that were used for the first pre-test were used to measure relaxation (EV = 3.32; R2 = .54; r = .827) happiness (EV = 2.62; R2 = .87; r = .93) and attention (EV = 2.29; R2 = .57; r = .74). All three scales loaded on one component, and so the means of the items per scale (relaxation: M = 4.83; SD = 1.16; happiness: M = 4.0; SD = 1.45; attention: M = 4.17; SD = 1.05) were used as a measurement for the comparison of the cases.
Results
Randomization
As respondents were passersby who voluntarily agreed on participation in the
experiment, there was no actual control over the even distribution of control variables for the four experimental stimuli. ANOVA and chi-square analyses showed that there were generally no significant differences between the four groups of respondents in terms of sex, χ2 (3) = 2.82, p = .420; being in a hurry whilst participating in the experiment, χ2 (3) = 1.86, p = .602; and the respondents’ level of environmental consciousness F(3, 162) = 1.07, p = .362.
Only for the second experimental stimulus, significantly more people lived in an urban environment compared to the other groups F(3, 162) = 4.85, p = .003; eta2 = .082. Also age differed significantly between the four groups F(3, 162) = 2.68, p = .049; eta2 = .047. This
could be due to the fact that during the weekend more elderly and less students were in the vicinity of the metro stop, than during workdays. However, both variables were treated as covariates during further analyses to make sure that they did not confound the effects.
Manipulation Check
ART-theory proposes that nature imagery generates higher levels of relaxation, happiness and attention, than non-nature imagery does (Kaplan, 1995). To compare the effects of the experimental stimuli and to check whether the nature pictures indeed created higher levels of the aforementioned emotions amongst the respondents, an independent samples t-test was done. Both groups had an equal amount of respondents with n = 83. As expected, the manipulations for nature versus non-nature imagery proved to be significant for relaxation (Mnon-nature = 4.21, SDnon-nature = 1.0; Mnature = 5.44, SDnature = .91), with t(164) = 8.07; p < .001. The manipulations were also significant for happiness (Mnon-nature = 1.44, SD non-nature = 3.44; Mnature = 4.57, SDnature = 1.2), with t(164) = 5.59; p < 0.001, and finally, for attention (Mnon-nature = 3.93, SDnon-nature = 1.1; Mnature = 4.43, SDnature = .92), with t(164) = 3,15; p = 0.002.
Hypotheses checking
To test H1a, both nature conditions were merged together in a new dummy variable. Then, two logistic regressions were conducted for both product memory and brand memory. Covariates that were taken into account were living environment, and age. Table 4 presents the results for both product memory, (-2LL = 134,74, Nagelkerke R2 = .20, χ2 (5) = 24.98); and for brand memory (-2LL = 214.19, Nagelkerke R2 = .09, χ2 (5) = 43.71). The nature versus non-nature dimension turned out to have no significant effect on product memory p = .431. Neither did it have a significant effect on brand memory, with p = .680. Therefore, H1a was not supported.
H1b expected the effects of nature imagery to have a positive effect on respondents’ appreciation of the ad. To measure whether there was a significant difference in ad liking between the two nature and the two non-nature conditions, an ANCOVA was done. This showed significant effects on ad liking F(1,166) = 10,86, p = .001; eta2 = .06 by nature imagery. Respondents in the nature conditions scored higher on ad liking (M = 4.66; SD = 1.56), than respondents in the non-nature conditions (M = 3.91; SD = 1.56). H1b was confirmed.
Table 1. Logistic regression product and brand memory
Product memory Brand memory
Predictor B (SE) OR Sig. B (SE) OR Sig.
Nature versus non-nature .91 (.49) 5.43 .062 .143 (.35) 1.154 .680 Congruent versus moderately incongruent fit -.44 (.45) 1.57 .329 .1.095 (.34) .334 .001*** Living environment -.06 (.29) .95 .841 -.426 (.24) .653 .073 Age -.06 (.01) .95 .000*** -.011 (.01) .989 .271 Constant 3.46 (.78) 44.86 .000*** 1.832 (.60) 6.247 .002
Note: The congruence vs. moderately incongruence-variable and the nature vs. non-nature variable both are dichotomous 0 (non-nature/congruent) and 1 (nature/moderately incongruent). Living environment ranged from 1 (urban), 2 (village) to 3 (green environment).
***p < .001, ** p < .01, * p < .05.
To test H2a, which expected a significant increasing effect of a moderately
incongruent product ad-background match on ad effectiveness in terms of product and brand
memory; first a new dummy variable was made. The moderately incongruent conditions were
coded 1, and the congruent conditions were coded 0. Expected was that the prior measured effect of the moderately incongruent conditions would generate higher ad effectiveness than
the congruent conditions would. The results of the logistic regressions (Table 4) show no significant effect for product memory (b = .44, OR = 1.57, p = .329). Only for brand memory, the congruent versus moderately incongruent dimensions turned out to have a significant effect (b = .11, OR = .33, p = .001). However, respondents scored three times lower on brand memory in the moderately incongruent conditions than in the congruent conditions. Thus, H2a was not supported.
H2b predicted that a moderately incongruent level of product ad-background
congruency would generate significant higher ad liking. For this, an ANCOVA was done. The covariates ‘age’ and ‘living environment’ again were taken into account in the analysis. The results of the analysis showed that there was no significant measured effects on ad liking:
F(1,166) = ,863, p = .354; with almost the same scores for respondents in the congruent (M =
4.39; SD = 1.6), and in the moderately incongruent conditions (M = 4.18; SD = .16). Therefore, H2b was not supported.
Table 2. Descriptive statistics for the experimental conditions (incl. the interaction) Nature Non-nature Nature Non-nature
Congruent conditions Moderately incongruent conditions
n 41 41 42 42
Product memory 85.4%a 90.2%a 81.0%a 71.4%a
Brand memory 63.4%a 46.3%a 76.2%a 47.6%a
Ad liking 4.81 (0.22)a 3.97 (0.22)a 4.51 (0.22)a 3.85 (0.22)a
Brand liking 4.38 (0.21)a 3.54 (0.21)a 3.95 (0.21)a 3.91 (0.21)a
Note: % represents the amount of right answers, Means (Standard Deviations).
a (b) Means with a different superscript in the same row differ significantly at p = .05.
product with the ad background, first the percentages of right answers were computed per group (see Table 5). Then, two separate logistic regressions with interaction term congruence x nature, were conducted. The first logistic regression (-2LL = 131.89, Nagelkerke R2 = .23, χ2 (5) = 24.98) showed that the moderator was trending towards statistical significance in terms of product memory (b = 1.53, OR = 4.62, p = .098). The second logistic regression (-2LL = 209.44, Nagelkerke R2 = .12, χ2 (5) = 15.94) did not show a significant interaction effect for brand memory (b = .81, OR = 2.25, p = .228). H3a was thus not supported.
Hypothesis 3b expected the same interaction to have an effect on ad liking. To measure if this interaction was significant, an ANCOVA was done including the covariates ‘age’ and ‘living environment’. However, the analysis showed no significant effect of the interaction on ad liking F(1,166) = 1.76, p = .675. Therefore, H3b was rejected.
To measure the possible mediation of ad liking and brand liking, special software was used, called PROCESS macro. This is an additional tool to the traditional SPSS software and can be used to measure various mediation, moderation and conditional process analyses (Hayes 2013). It measures the path coefficients for direct and indirect effects in (moderated) mediator models, and uses 1000 bootstrap samples to estimate the 95% bias corrected and accelerated confidence interval (BCACI). Since the moderation of product congruency turned out not to be significant, only the mediation of ad liking on brand liking was measured
(Figure 2).
The total effect of nature imagery on brand image turned out to be significant (bc =
.43, p = .045). However, with the addition of the mediator ad liking, the results showed that nature did not have a significant direct effect on brand liking anymore (bc’ = -.002, p = .990). Nature does have a significant effect on ad liking (b a = .75, p = .001), and ad liking has a
significant effect on brand liking (b b = .59, p < .000). Additionally, we found a significant
BCACI [.19, .77]). However, This means that nature imagery only has an effect on brand liking via ad liking and hypothesis 3b was thus supported.
Figure 2. Tested mediation model: Effect of nature imagery in ads on brand liking, via ad
liking, moderated by product-ad background congruency.
Note: Indirect effect = -.44, 95% BCACI [.19, .77]. Unstandardized b-coefficients (with boot SE
between parentheses); N = 166. ***p
***< .001, ** p < .01, * p < .05, +p < .10
Discussion and Conclusion
This study examined the influence of nature imagery in advertisement and the effect of in-ad product background congruency with respect to product memory, brand memory, ad liking, and brand liking. In contrast with previous studies, no significant effects were found for nature imagery on product and brand memory.However, the results did show that nature imagery, regardless of the level of product-congruency with the ad background, significantly increased ad liking and indirectly also brand liking. Nature significantly promoted brand liking in a direct way. However, when integrating ad liking into the model, it was shown that
c -.00 (.18) c’ -.00 (.18) Ad background: Nature vs. non-nature imagery Ad liking Brand liking .59 (.06)*** .75 (.23)***
Supported by the results of two pre-tests that were done to ensure significant
manipulations of the final experimental stimuli, four different ads with combinations of two non-existing, branded products (congruent vs. moderately incongruent) and two different ad backgrounds (nature vs. non-nature) were tested. Following Kaplan’s (1995) attention restoration theory (ART), and Ulrich’s (1991) stress reduction theory, it was expected that nature background would generate a better product- and brand memory, in comparison to a non-nature background. However, despite the successful manipulations for ART-theory of the experimental stimuli, and a control question for respondents’ living environment (urban, village or green), the results of this study showed no significant improvement of nature imagery on product- and brand memory. From this context it might thus be plausible to state that the restorative effect of nature imagery may not have an effect on short-term product and brand memory.
Why Berman et al. (2008) did find positive significant effects of nature imagery on brand memory could be explained by the time respondents were exposed to nature before taking part in the survey. As respondents in their survey took part in a 55-minute walk before taking part in the survey, results were logically different from the results in this study.
However, by comparing both measurements the assumption can be generated that the restorative effect of being in nature for people’s attention, as well as the reduction of stress, needs a little more time to sink in, than an advertisement can generate with passersby at a busy subway station. Next to that, Hartmann et al. (2013) found higher results for the effects of nature imagery on brand recall 48 hours after respondents were confronted with the ad. Future comparative research should therefore resolve whether the duration of the
confrontation with nature or nature imagery, and the timing of measuring respondents’ memory generate different effects in product and brand memory. From the results of this study it can still be argued that nature imagery generated no different results on short-term
product and brand memory, in comparison to non-nature imagery in ads. Future research should compare the effects of nature imagery on long-term versus short-term brand recall, to support this finding.
However, since visual representations of nature scenes still may evoke positive emotional effects of nature, as was found in Hartmann et al. ’s (2013) research, it was expected that an ad with nature imagery would generate higher ad and brand liking. It was indeed shown that nature had a significant effect on ad liking and on brand liking. However, when ad liking was included as a mediator, the direct effect of nature imagery on brand liking disappeared. Yet, nature imagery had a significant indirect effect on brand liking via ad liking. This might be due to the fact that the brands in the experimental stimuli were presented as new, which made the ads the only basis for respondents to base their evaluations of the brands on. Apart from the lacking of existent brand associations, the manipulations of the experimental stimuli were consistently generating happy, relaxed and perceptive feelings like ART theory had predicted (Kaplan, 1995). The results of this study therefore might imply that nature generates positive feelings, which increase ad and brand liking. When nature imagery is thus perceived as pleasant, it can consequentially have beneficial effects for ad and brand attitudes. This finding therefore contributes to previous literature, as the theoretical
implications and effects of nature imagery on ad and brand liking were not studied so far. Furthermore, as nature has many different intrinsic meanings and drives many different brand associations (for example: environmental consciousness, a healthy life, freedom, etc.), it is used in ads for many different product categories (Hansen, 2002). When communicating brand meanings to consumers it is widely understood in the marketing literature that the establishment of consistency and relevancy is most effective. The level of congruency between products and nature imagery in ads is however not always clear. Halkias and Kokkinaki (2013) argue that the relevance and the expectancies of different bits of
information in the ad would generate higher ad elaboration in a moderately incongruent combination. Following this argument, it was hypothesized that a moderately incongruent combination of a product and an ad background would generate higher product memory;
brand memory; ad liking; and brand liking, than congruent advertisements would. However,
we only found a significant effect on brand memory, showing higher scores for the
advertisements in the congruent conditions, than in the moderately incongruent conditions, which was exactly the opposite of our expectations. This could be explained by the size of the gap between respondents’ expectations about the products and the relevance of the ad
backgrounds in the moderately incongruent conditions, which can backfire when the gap is too large. As we only checked the levels of congruency with a pre-test, and did not check the strength of the congruency manipulation in the final survey again, these explanations are just speculation. Using the same context, with items to control for the strength of the level of the congruency, future research could therefore find out whether our manipulation was reliable, or whether our findings are consistent with prior research on positive effects of high in-ad congruency. If so, this may suggest that moderately incongruent ad information as Halkias and Kokkinaki (2013) studied, may only work in certain contexts. They only studied the effects of well-known brands and the level of congruency of ad backgrounds, which may generate different psychological reactions amongst respondents than the level of congruency for entirely new brands. Especially since respondents’ expectancies about the ads of the brands in their research were thus prefabricated by the prior knowledge of the brands, and were not formed on the spot during the survey as was the case in this research.
Given these findings, a further moderating effect of the level of product-ad
background congruency upon the effect of nature imagery on ad effectiveness (e.g. product recall; brand recall; ad liking), was -not surprisingly- not found. On the other hand, significant results did show that nature imagery had a significant direct effect on brand liking, and that ad
liking mediated this effect when integrated in the model, as Mackenzie et al (1986) partially
predicted. Also, a significant indirect effect was found between nature imagery and brand liking. Our study thus shows the strength of the direct and indirect effect of nature imagery on brand attitudes, which is a new finding in the field of communications research. It also shows that this positive influence works for new brands, despite the level of congruency between the advertised product and the advertisement background.
The strength of this study might at the same time imply its weaknesses. As a field study, data was collected in a real life context by showing the ad in a subway station in Amsterdam to passersby who had agreed to take part in the survey. This made the chance that respondents looked at the advertisements higher, than it normally would have, which makes the results of this study more reliable for advertisers. Simultaneously, measuring respondents’ attention to the ads, which is an important step towards higher product and brand memory, was done by asking respondents in the oral introduction of the survey to look at the ad for as long as they liked, before answering the survey questions. Afterwards, four items in the survey asked respondents directly about the intensity of their attention towards the ad. This method may have generated socially desirable answers. Some respondents for example pretended to have seen the ad for the right amount of time and later admitted they did not remember a single aspect of the ad, answering the questions purely by guessing. In addition, several other respondents conceded they did not understand how, or with respect to which benchmark they should answer the survey items. This may have caused lower final scores on product and brand memory than was expected at the hand of the manipulations of the stimuli. Future researchers could therefore for example hang the experimental stimuli on the wall around the corner of their standing point in the subway station and ask respondents to walk towards the advert and look at it for as long as they would like. Using this approach,
attention better, than using the approach used for this research.
In addition, it may be wise to use more different backgrounds in future research, including a control background (e.g. just blank) since people may react differently to different types of nature imagery. Moreover, a control question should also be taken into account with respect to respondents’ involvement with the product type. During data collection some of the respondents reacted negatively to the ad due to their attitude towards the product (e.g.
possible side-effects, or chemical ingredients of energy drinks). In consequence, this could have had influence on their evaluation of the ad. It might be wise to use different product types in future research, as we focussed only on liquid consumptions in this research. All in all, despite the challenge of creating a moderately incongruent product ad-background match with respect to consumers’ sensitivity, we can conclude that marketers can use the results of this study with respect to nature imagery. The results suggest that nature imagery, when not portrayed as a has a beneficial effect on ad liking and brand liking in spite of the congruency of the product or the familiarity of the brand in the ad. Therefore, pleasant nature imagery can be successfully implemented in ads for all sorts of products as a visual communication strategy.
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T ab le 1. Pre -test 1. PC A and re li abil it y pe r image for re laxation, happi ne ss and at tention. M 4.51 4.41 4.44 3.97 4.51 3.68 N o te: Pictu re 1 ( tr o p ical wate rf all) , p ictu re 2 ( New Yo rk s k y scr ap er s) , p ictu re 3 ( au tu m n h ills ), p ictu re 4 ( T im es sq u ar e) , Pictu re 5 (T ro p ical b ea ch ), p ictu re 6 (T ok yo ’s s ky scr ap er s) . Me an ( M ) an d s tan d ar d d ev iatio n ( SD) p er s ca le (all o n 7 p o in t L ik er t sca le) . a .86 .90 .88 .89 .92 .97 PC A R 2 .7 2 .7 9 .7 5 .7 5 .8 2 .8 0 EV 2.9 0 3 .1 7 3 .0 1 3 .0 2 3 .3 0 3 .1 9 Hap p in ess R eliab ilit y An aly sis S D 1 . 41 4. 31 3. 31 8. 11 9. 41 1. 6 1 M 5.29 4.74 4.05 4.29 5.17 3.68 a .97 .92 .96 .95 .85 .97 PC A R 2 .9 5 .8 7 .9 3 .9 0 .7 7 .9 5 EV 2.8 5 2 .6 2 2 .8 0 2 .7 1 2 .3 3 2 .8 4 R elax atio n R eliab ilit y an aly sis SD 1.3 0 1 .1 5 1 .3 6 1 .0 4 1 .4 1 .9 5 M 5.57 4.40 7.55 3.36 5.43 3.64 a .92 .92 .95 .87 .93 .76 PC A R 2 .7 5 .7 3 .8 4 .6 2 .7 5 .4 6 EV 4.5 2 4 .3 8 5 .0 4 3 .7 0 4 .5 2 2 .7 9 P ictu res 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Appendix B
Table 2. Pre-test 1. Mean scores on 7 point Likert scale (N = 23).
Pictures Relaxation (M) Happiness (M) Attention (M) Average
1. (Nature) 5,57 5,29 4,51 5,12** 2. (non-nature) 4,40 4,74 4,41 4,52 3. (Nature) 5,57 5,04 4,44 5,02 4. (non-nature) 3,36 4,29 3,97 3,87 5. (Nature) 5,44 5,17 4,51 5,04 6. (non-nature) 3,64 3,68 3,72 3,68**
** Highest and lowest mean scores
Appendix C
Table 3. Pre-test 2. Product scores on 7 Point Likert scale (N = 29).
Nature picture Non-nature picture
Products Mean scores
1. Bottle of water 6.14 (1) 2.28 (8) 2. Shampoo 5.52 (2) 2.28 (8) 3. Aspirine 2.48 (8) 4.38 (2) 4. Beer 2.9 (4) 4.10 (3) 5. Detergent 2.9 (4) 2.55 (6) 6. Energy drink 2.66 (7) 4.55 (1) 7. Yoghurt 2.83 (6) 1.79 (10) 8. Tea 3.45 (3) 2.31 (7) 9. Chewing gum 2.31 (9) 3.48 (5) 10. Coffee 2.00 (10) 4.07 (4)
Note: Bold scores were used for the final experiment. Based on the mean scores, the ranking of product match from best (=1) to worst (=10) fit with the background, are between parentheses.
Appendix E
VRAGENLIJST
1. Op een schaal van 1 (helemaal niet) tot 7 (heel erg), in hoeverre ervaar of voel jij de volgende emoties tijdens het kijken naar deze advertentie?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ontspannen O O O O O O O Kalm O O O O O O O Vredig O O O O O O O Rusteloos O O O O O O O Gespannen O O O O O O O Nerveus O O O O O O O Verheugd O O O O O O O Vrolijk O O O O O O O Blij O O O O O O O
2. Hoeveel aandacht heb je besteed aan de advertentie?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Helemaal niet O O O O O O O Heel veel
3. Hoe erg concentreerde je op deze advertentie?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Helemaal niet O O O O O O O Heel veel
4. Hoe betrokken was je met deze advertentie?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Helemaal niet O O O O O O O Heel erg
5. Hoeveel gedachten heb je gewijd aan het evalueren van deze advertentie?
Helemaal geen O O O O O O O Heel veel
6. In hoeverre vond je deze advertentie...?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Onaangenaam O O O O O O O Aangenaam
Niet leuk O O O O O O O Leuk
Slecht O O O O O O O Goed
7. In hoeverre vond je het merk in deze advertentie…?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Onaangenaam O O O O O O O Aangenaam
Niet leuk O O O O O O O Leuk
Slecht O O O O O O O Goed
8. Wat was het type product in de advertentie? ________________________________________
9. Wat was de naam van het merk in de advertentie? _________________________________
10. Welk van de volgende producten stond in de advertentie?
O Cola
O Limonade O Energy Drank O Sinas
O Flesje water
11. Welk van de volgende merknamen werd gecommuniceerd in de advertentie? O Red Bull
O H2Drink
O SPA
O Coca Cola
12. Omcirkel het juiste antwoord: Ik woon in een stedelijke/dorpse/groene omgeving.
13. Heb je momenteel haast om de metro of een andere afspraak te halen? Ja/nee
14. In hoeverre heb je interesse in het milieu?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Helemaal niet O O O O O O O Heel veel
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